Knock-down foundation for a bed

ABSTRACT

The foundation consists of an assembly of wooden components which interconnect to form an enclosed rectangular configuration for supporting a mattress. At each corner of the assembly are two posts which are interconnected by dowels or by a tongue and groove. The dowels and the mouths of the openings in which they are accommodated are bevelled for facilitating the insertion of the dowels into the openings should they be misaligned. The tongues and grooves are also bevelled for the same reason. The wooden components have a moisture content in the range of about 6% to about 14% by weight

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

This invention relates to foundations for beds and more particularly to a knock-down foundation composed of an assembly of wooden components which interconnect to form an enclosed rectangular configuration for supporting a mattress.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

Mattresses are conventionally supported by a foundation such as a box spring or metallic springs. Larger beds such as king and queen sized beds require foundations which, because of their relatively large size, are heavy and awkward to handle. In addition to this shortcoming, after the usefulness of a foundation has ended, it cannot be recycled but must, at cost and inconvenience, be transported and disposed of at land-fill sites.

We have invented a knock-down foundation for a bed that can be easily assembled for use and dismantled for transport or disposal. The foundation is composed almost entirely of wood that is suitable for recycling or readily compostable at the end of its useful life. Where possible, pieces of wood which make up the foundation are interconnected by wooden dowels or tongues and grooves. Non-compostable material such as bolts and screws are kept to a minimum.

The foundation of our invention has other advantages generally not shared by conventional foundations. The wooden components of our foundation are designed to hold tightly together to minimize the number of gaps between adjacent parts. Gaps are undesirable because rubbing of the components of the foundation separated by the gaps occurs when there is movement on the foundation. Such rubbing produces undesirable squeaks, rattles and other undesirable noises.

Another advantage of our foundation is that the parts are designed to be assembled using power tools such as pneumatic presses in order to speed up the process of assembly. To this end, dowels and tongues used to interconnect the parts are preferably bevelled in order to align automatically with the openings or grooves in which they are inserted as they are pressed together.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

Briefly the foundation of our invention consists of an assembly of wooden components including: longitudinal elements on opposite sides thereof; front and rear transverse elements at opposite ends thereof and means for supporting a mattress. Each longitudinal element has at least one longitudinal stringer and side posts at opposite ends thereof and each transverse element has at least one crosspiece and end posts at opposite ends thereof. Each side post is disposed adjacent to a separate end post to form a pair of posts. The foundation has means for interconnecting each pair of posts in order to arrange the stringers and crosspieces into an enclosed rectangular configuration. The wooden components have a moisture content in the range of about 6% to about 14% by weight

DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The knock-down foundation of the invention is described with reference to the accompanying drawings in which:

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of the interior of the foundation;

FIG. 2 is a perspective view of the components of the foundation prior to assembly packed in a shipping container;

FIG. 3 is a perspective view of a crosspiece and portions of two stringers of the foundation prior to interconnection;

FIG. 4 is a plan view, partly cut away, of the components illustrated in FIG. 3 after interconnection;

FIG. 5 is a perspective view of several slats together with portions of a crosspiece and a stringer;

FIG. 6 is a perspective view of the framework of the foundation partially concealed by ticking;

FIG. 7 is an perspective view, in larger scale, of portions of two posts and a dowel for interconnecting the posts;

FIG. 8 is an elevation of the components illustrated in FIG. 7; and

FIG. 9 is a perspective view of portions of a stringer and a crosspiece together with two posts, one provided with a tongue and the other with a groove, for interconnecting the two posts.

Like reference characters refer to like parts throughout the description of the drawings.

DESCRIPTION OF PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS OF THE FOUNDATION

With reference to FIGS. 1 and 3 the foundation is made up of an assembly of wooden components which include three parallel longitudinal elements generally 12 a,b and c and a pair of front and back transverse elements generally 14 a,b, respectively. Slats 16 support a mattress (not illustrated). The interconnected longitudinal and transverse elements together define an enclosed rectangular configuration.

Each longitudinal element is composed of a pair of upper and lower stringers 20 a,b respectively. The stringers are longitudinally extending and are of equal length. The stringers are maintained in a spaced parallel relationship by a pair of parallel side posts 22 a,b which interconnect the ends of the two stringers. A number of spacers 30 are disposed between the side posts 22 a,b and also serve to maintain the longitudinal stringers in a spaced parallel relationship.

The side posts have inner and outer walls 24, 26 walls, respectively. The inner walls face each other while the outer walls are oppositely facing. A pair of spaced apart dowels 28 are accommodated in openings in the outer walls and extend outwardly therefrom.

The front and back transverse elements of the foundation are each made up of a pair of upper and lower crosspieces 40 a,b respectively of equal length. The crosspieces are maintained in a parallel relationship by a pair of parallel end posts 42 a,b at opposite ends of the crosspieces. A number of spacers 46 are disposed between the side posts. Outside of the end posts is a half round piece 47 for decoration and protection to the end posts and to persons in the vicinity of the foundation.

The posts and spacers are be attached to the stringers and transverse elements by nails, staples or screws. Alternatively they can be attached by dowels or by tongues and grooves.

The longitudinal elements of the foundation are spaced apart an equal distance. The two outer longitudinal elements 12 a,c define the side walls of the foundation while the third longitudinal element 12 b lies between the other two and provides support to the foundation midway between its sides.

With reference to FIGS. 3 and 4, the end posts 42 a,b have a pair of apertures which admit dowels 28 for securing the two outer longitudinal elements 12 a,c to the front and back transverse elements. The dowels in the third longitudinal component 12 b fit into apertures in a central spacer 46 a in each transverse element.

With reference to FIG. 5, slats 16 extend between the two outer longitudinal elements and are arranged parallel to each other. With reference to FIG. 6, ticking 52 is placed over the entire assembly to conceal the framework of the foundation.

With reference to FIGS. 7 and 8, both ends of dowel 28 are bevelled at 40 as are the mouths 42 of the openings 44, 46 of end post 48 and side post 50, respectively, in which the dowel is pressure fitted. The dowel may be slightly misaligned with openings 44, 46 before the dowel is forced into the openings. Bevels are provided to ensure that the dowel aligns automatically with the openings as pressure to the posts to bring them into contact with each other. The pressure may be applied by a power tool such as a pneumatic press.

Longitudinally extending grooves 52 are formed in the cylindrical outer wall of the dowel. The grooves are provided to improve the bond between the dowel and the walls of the openings when the dowel is glued in the openings. Glue may be used when the bond between the dowel and the walls of an opening is to be permanent.

With reference to FIG. 9, post 60 of longitudinal element 62 is provided with a tongue 64 which pressure fits into a groove 66 formed in post 68 of transverse elements 70. The tongue and groove serves the same purpose of the dowel of the previous figures. The side edges 64 a of the tongue are bevelled as are the side edges 66 a of the groove to facilitate alignment of the two posts as they are being forced together during the process of assembly of the foundation.

The components of the foundation are formed of wood, preferably spruce, pine or fir. The moisture content of the wood should be in the range of 6% to 14% by weight and preferably in the range of 8% to 12% by weight. If the moisture content is below these ranges, the wood tends to splinter when pressure is applied to it to interconnect the components and when staples are driven into it to attach the ticking to the components. If the moisture content is above these ranges, the wood tends to shrink over time. It does so because, in most cases, the foundations are in relatively dry houses where the humidity is in the range of about 6% to 8%. This is the normal level of humidity in the interior of houses in the northern hemisphere, particularly in winter.

If the level of moisture in the wood is much above 12-14%, the wood loses moisture over time in relatively dry houses and as the wood becomes drier the wood shrinks and gaps form between adjacent components of the foundation. Any movement of a foundation having such gaps causes the components separated by the gaps to rub together and such rubbing produces undesirable squeaks, rattles and other undesirable noises.

It will be understood, of course, that modifications can be made in the structure of the foundation described herein without departing from the scope and purview of the invention as defined in the appended claims. 

1. An assembly of wooden components for a bed foundation including: longitudinal elements on opposite sides thereof; front and rear transverse elements at opposite ends thereof and means for supporting a mattress, each said longitudinal element having at least one longitudinal stringer and side posts at opposite ends thereof, each said transverse element having at least one crosspiece and end posts at opposite ends thereof, each said side post being disposed adjacent to a separate said end post to form a pair of posts; and means for interconnecting each said pair of posts with resulting formation of said stringers and crosspieces into an enclosed rectangular configuration, said side and end posts having a moisture content in the range of about 6% to about 14% by weight
 2. The assembly of claim 1 wherein the moisture content of said side and end posts is in the range of about 8% to about 12%.
 3. The assembly of claim 1 wherein said interconnecting means is a plurality of dowels which extend between each said pair of posts, each said dowel having bevelled opposite ends and being received in elongated openings formed in said pair of posts, each said opening having a bevelled mouth for facilitating the insertion of said dowels into said openings.
 4. The assembly of claim 1 wherein said interconnecting means are tongues and grooves, one said post in each said pair of posts having one said tongue and the other said post in the latter said pair of posts having one said groove, each said tongue having an outer wall which faces said groove and which is bevelled and each said tongue having an elongated mouth which is bevelled. for facilitating the insertion of said tongues into said grooves.
 5. An assembly of wooden components for a bed foundation, said assembly having longitudinal elements on opposite sides thereof, front and rear transverse elements at opposite ends thereof and means for supporting a mattress, each said longitudinal element having at least one longitudinal stringer and side posts at opposite ends thereof, each said transverse element having at least one crosspiece and end posts at opposite ends thereof, each said side post being disposed adjacent to a separate said end post to form a pair of posts; a plurality of dowels which extend between each said pair of posts and which function to interconnect said pairs of posts with resulting formation of said stringers and crosspieces into an enclosed rectangular configuration; each said dowel having bevelled opposite ends and being received in elongated openings formed in said pair of posts, each said opening having a bevelled mouth for facilitating the insertion of said dowels into said openings.
 6. The assembly of claim 5 wherein said wooden components have a moisture content in the range of about 6% to about 14% by weight
 7. The assembly of claim 5 wherein said wooden components have a moisture content in the range of about 8% to about 12% by weight
 8. An assembly of wooden components for a bed foundation, said assembly having longitudinal elements on opposite sides thereof, front and rear transverse elements at opposite ends thereof and means for supporting a mattress, each said longitudinal element having at least one longitudinal stringer and side posts at opposite ends thereof, each said transverse element having at least one crosspiece and end posts at opposite ends thereof, each said side post being disposed adjacent to a separate said end post to form a pair of posts; one said post in each said pair of posts having a tongue and the other said post in the latter said pair of posts having a groove, said tongues and grooves fitting together to interconnect said pairs of posts with resulting formation of said stringers and crosspieces into an enclosed rectangular configuration, each said tongue having an outer wall which faces said groove and which is bevelled and each said tongue having an elongated mouth which is bevelled. for facilitating the insertion of said tongues into said grooves.
 9. The assembly of claim 8 wherein said wooden components have a moisture content in the range of about 6% to about 14% by weight
 10. The assembly of claim 8 wherein said wooden components have a moisture content in the range of about 8% to about 12% by weight 